Abbott: Texas may be about to get ‘rolled’ on Harvey aid package

By Mike Ward and Kevin Diaz, Bureau staff writers

October 11, 2017

Photo: Jay Janner /Austin American-Statesman

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts at a Sept. 26 news conference at the Texas FEMA Joint Field Office in Austin. Abbott, angered by an anticipated move by U.S. House leaders to sidetrack Texas’ request for an additional $18.7 billion in Hurricane Harvey aid, blasted the Texas congressional delegation for not fighting it.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about Hurricane Harvey recovery...

AUSTIN — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, angered by an anticipated move by U.S. House leaders to sidetrack Texas’ request for an additional $18.7 billion in Hurricane Harvey aid, on Wednesday blasted the Texas congressional delegation for not fighting against the reduced amount.

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A bill scheduled for a House vote Thursday provides $36.5 billion in disaster aid for victims of hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate, and for those fighting wildfires across California and other Western states.

Although Harvey victims would be included in the aid package, it does not specifically include some $18.7 billion that Abbott and nearly the entire Texas congressional delegation had sought to earmark specifically for the victims of Hurricane Harvey in the Gulf Coast. Much of that was targeted for the Houston area.

“I am disappointed that most members of the Texas congressional delegation have agreed to go ahead and vote for this bill, from what I know at this time, when Texas needs this money,” Abbott said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle. “It appears the Texas delegation will let themselves be rolled by the House of Representatives.”

Abbott said Texas’ congressional delegation should vote against the bill unless it includes additional funding for Texas specifically.

The bill includes $18.67 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund — nearly $5 billion of which could be used to subsidize direct loans to Puerto Rico.

Another $16 billion is for the National Flood Insurance Program, which is nearly $30 billion in debt.

Some members of the Texas congressional delegation said that while they share the governor’s concerns, they expect more money in the future.

“I certainly understand how the governor feels about this, but we’re trying to do this for all the disasters that pretty much hit at the same time,” said Laredo Democrat Henry Cuellar, who co-chairs a bipartisan task force on Harvey relief efforts.

“Is this the final appropriation?” he added, “No. We’re going to be doing more.”

A spokesman for Texas Republican Joe Barton, who co-chairs the congressional Harvey task force, said its mission is to cut red tape to help Texans get the relief they need. He said Barton has not been involved in negotiations on the current aid package.

Stop-gap measure

Houston Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee said the latest aid package will not meet many of her priorities, including aid to displaced public housing residents.

“This really is just a stop-gap measure,” she said. “It doesn’t move us forward.”

The money comes on top of a $15 billion that Congress approved for Harvey relief efforts in September. State officials have said the total tab from the storm could reach $100 billion or more.

Until Wednesday, Texas officials had appeared confident that the Texas aid package would be approved as requested.

On Oct. 5, all but three members of Texas’ congressional delegation signed a letter seeking $18.7 billion in additional recovery funding, including $10 billion for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects and $7 billion for additional recovery block grants.

An additional $800 million was sought to rebuild and repair schools, $450 million for loans to help business rebuild and reopen, $300 million in assistance for local-government recovery initiatives and $150 million to repair and rebuild transportation infrastructure that was damaged in the storm.

Abbott, a Republican, called upon the GOP-dominated Texas House delegation to get “a stiff spine” and “they need to fight for their fellow Texans.” He insisted that time remains for Texas’ congressional delegation to push to include the Texas funding in the bill to be debated Thursday.

In addition to Cuellar, Texas, a large Republican state with plenty of clout in Congress, has three members serving on the House Appropriations Committee: Kay Granger of Fort Worth, John Carter of Round Rock and John Culberson of Houston.

Culberson, whose district was directly hit by Harvey, did not return a call seeking comment on the governor’s complaint.

Abbott aides said the revised bill may include only a “tiny little pot of money” for Texas, but not the amount needed to keep the recovery moving ahead.

“This is essential,” Abbott said. “The least that Texans deserve is for their congressional delegation to stand with them on this funding. It is time for them to step up and do what they have power to do.”

Abbott’s public airing of the issue is unusual for a governor who typically tries to work out differences behind closed doors and through negotiated consensus.

Abbott said he planned to contact the White House for assistance in restoring Texas funding to the bill.

Flood insurance

But Texas’ funding woes are not the only headache for the Trump administration.

Conservative groups already have taken aim at the flood insurance money, calling it a bailout for those who continue to rebuild in flood-prone areas.

“The administration’s request to treat a $16 billion bailout for the failing federal flood insurance program as an emergency is irresponsible,” Heritage Action Vice President Dan Holler said in a statement. “There have been numerous efforts over the past decade to make the NFIP financially and structurally sound, but special interest pushback successfully blunted serious reforms.”

The NFIP, which underwrites more than 95 percent of flood insurance policies in this country, currently does not have enough funding to cover what are expected to be billions of dollars in claims from the succession of hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

But under the legislation to be voted on in the house, $16 billion of the program’s $30 billion in debt would be eliminated.

“That’s going to give them room to write checks for folks down in Houston,” said Craig Poulton, the CEO of Poulton Associates, a Utah-based insurance firm.